This Classical Life

I have spent most of my time working in classrooms and as a freelancer, so there are moments in my new job that tickle me simply by being new but stereotypical, like the sort of thing I am used to seeing on television.

For example, everyone was concerned about the affects of the government shutdown. We receive no federal funding, but we are hosting a golf tournament at a military owned course Friday. Oops. Good thing the course is revenue generating so it isn’t affected.

Then I sent a normal email to the publications committee and got an auto-reply from an attorney who works for a government agency in Memphis, letting me know she’d reply when the government reopened. A good reminder that the craziness in Washington does impact people all over the country.

I worked from home today and the printer had my proof ready so he couriered it over. Kind of cool to have something brought to my door.

Yes, we have a water cooler. We don’t really talk about television shows, though.

It’s funny the way that seeing offices in television and movies really has prepared me for some of what my job requires and helped me to navigate it with more ease. If only all of life were more like a sitcom and I could use the laugh track to move things along and depend on repetitive trope to provide the vast majority of conflict and resolution so I’d always know how things were going to turn out.

But that’s just not the way life works. And furthermore, as much as it sometimes pains me to admit, I’m not the star of the show. The story of the world moves on with or without my active participation. I’m but one human among billions and the world does not revolve around me. Most of the time, I know that’s a good thing.

The last six weeks have been crazy busy.

My sweet sister Laura married a great man we all love and it was a great day for all of us.

We bought a new car that we all love. It’s perfect for our family.

I’m settling into my new job, which I really enjoy, and keeping the freelance plates spinnings for now.

Michael and the kids are settling into another school year.

I celebrated another birthday and survived falling off my bike — it actually made me feel pretty awesome to get that out of the way.

Lexi and Kate had an amazing lemonade stand where they sold fresh squeezed lemonade for $.50 and made over $60 in less than two hours for the annual fund at school. They love their hand-me-down, very official stand and plan to use it regularly.

They’d love it if you joined in by donating online. It’s easy, and this is the last week.

To be honest, not all the things that have made life busy have been wonderful and fun. But I am grateful for family, friends and all the good gifts that we enjoy. I am choosing to focus on the good and the true and the beautiful.

After fifteen or more years of complete cycling negligence, I bought a bike this weekend. I love it so much that I have reposted this picture from my bike shop several times, a picture that was taken from a squatting angle that is particularly unflattering and featuring an outfit chosen for the utility of riding home.

I did ride home from the shop and then to work both of the days I went into the office this week. Though I remember putting some miles on a pink Schwinn with a banana seat in my childhood, I wasn’t an avid cyclist as a teenager, so I feel like I am embarking on a whole new adventure.

Before riding a bike to work, I believed that midtown and downtown were relatively flat. Now I know about every hill, as well as where to find a decaying carcass and dirty diapers left in the bike lane. Which circle of hell would Dante send those who leave dirty diapers in the street?

Bike commuting is it’s own challenge. I hope to order a pannier soon, but for right now I am bungeeing my bag to my back rack. A bag that has work clothes carefully rolled, a lunch and my laptop and various cords. It’s not lightweight. I am supposed to get a new computer at work and once I can leave the laptop at home, it should be a little bit better. Luckily, I can store my bike in my office and the building security showed me how to access and use the freight elevator. I do miss the thrill of the ultra modern elevators in the lobby.

Another challenge: I don’t know anything about bike maintenance. I do know that if you use a bike for transportation, you need to be able to do some basic repairs like fixing a flat. So I went to my bike shop for a free class and a Ghost River Golden Ale. I learned a lot. Going to test my skills with the girls’ bikes, which both have flats.

Right now, I’m just tired and sore. My office building is just less than 3.5 miles from our house, so I am a little ashamed to admit that. But I am hoping that I round the corner on that soon.

In this time where everything feels new, I can’t wait to get to the routine where biking to work isn’t hard, I have found time to read again and the rest of my life (meal planning, cooking, doing stuff for myself) falls back into place.

Alas, I have not solved the Midtown mysteries from last week. However, I did find a job. I guess I can live with a little mystery.

I’m excited to be the new Director of Communications for our local bar association. I think it’s a great fit for me overall and I will grow and learn in this position as I use my skills in writing, editing, design and social media. I will be producing six magazines a year, as well as more regular communications (social media, email newsletters, etc.)

One of the coolest things about the job is that it is downtown and I love that part of the city. Expect more photos of trolleys. We only live 3 miles away, so I hope to get a bike and commute that way sometimes, particularly when the weather is nice. Our street is just a block off a designated bike route and the whole way is flat, so I really have no excuses once I have a bike and some basic knowledge of how to take care of it.

I start my new job tomorrow, and school starts back up again for the kids and Michael in two weeks. Possibility awaits all of us as we embark on new adventures. The start of a new school year always makes me hopeful. Fun to be starting so close to their start date.

It’s only Tuesday evening, but the week feels cloaked in mystery.

It all started at 7 a.m. yesterday morning. I hadn’t gotten any sleep at all, but I had planned to run and since I had not ran at all last week, I decided to go ahead and run lest I continue in a state of perpetual excuses. In a non-insomniac state, I am the world’s slowest runner, so I did not have high expectations for my performance, but getting out there at all was better than nothing. About 1.25 miles into my run, I had stopped to walk a bit and a man yelled out his car window at me, “Kristen, you need to pick up the pace!”

I have no idea who it was. The car was unfamiliar to me. I queried Michael and several friends, no one could identify the car in question.

Then, this evening, I asked the girls if they wanted to take a walk with me. They agreed, but wanted to ride their bikes instead. When we got their bikes out, I noticed something peculiar. There were tatters of red, white and blue crepe paper streamers left in Lexi’s spokes. Our street has a really adorable 4th of July bike parade but we were out of town. We participated last year, but this bike was a Christmas gift. Apparently, someone borrowed the bike(s) from our garage, decorated them for the parade and returned them. Perhaps a neighbor had friends come over and they needed something to ride? I don’t mind, and am glad they found their way home, but I’d love to hear the story.

These situations are both intriguing to me. Maybe Kate and Lexi will take up my case.